Apple leads shift of global chip buying from PCs to iPad, smartphones

As the largest buyer of semiconductors worldwide, Apple is leading a global trend in chip expenditures that has pushed wireless devices past the sales of computer chips.

According to a report by IHS iSuppli, wireless devices have become the largest consumers of the semiconductor market, now accounting for 24 percent of the chips sold.

Analyst Wenlie Ye said the increase among wireless devices was "spurred by prodigious mobile handset and tablet sales exemplified by the runaway success of Apple’s popular offerings."

While chips bound for wireless devices have passed the consumption of PC semiconductors before (among the world's top Original Equipment Manufacturers), this time the trend appears permanent.

Chips sales for wireless products last year amounted to $58.6 billion, an increase of 14.5 percent over 2010's $51.2 billion in sales. In contrast, PC chip sales last year grew just 4 percent to $53.7 billion, up from $51.8 billion in 2010.

Ye stated, "wireless will continue to generate the most growth during the next two years. A substantial portion of the segment’s increase will be due to rising tablet sales, although mobile handsets like smartphones will continue to account for the lion’s share of semiconductor segment in the wireless area."

Apple's voracious appetite for chips

Last week, Gartner announced that Apple had become the world's largest buyer of semiconductors.

IHS iSuppli notes that Apple has a particular lead "In the fast-growing tablet space," having spent $4.6 billion on tablet chip components in 2011. "The iPad continues to be unmatched in its class despite earnest efforts from rival products to loosen its hold on the market," it noted.

The second place consumer of chips in the tablet market is Samsung, which spent $603 million, followed by HTC, which bought $199 million worth of tablet-bound chips last year.

Apple's chief executive Tim Cook stated in last week's quarterly earnings conference call that Apple sees iPad as a "huge opportunity for Apple over time," reiterating the idea that the company's management believes "there will come a day when the tablet market in units is larger than the PC market."

Cook added, "We're just going to continue to innovate like crazy in this area. And we think we can continue to compete with anyone that is currently shipping tablets, or that might enter in the future."

I still hear people yelling that tablets are useless, especially those iPads made by Apple.

It's amazing that Apple is selling so many "toys" and that a "toy" company is sitting as the wealthiest company by market cap on the planet. Who woulda thunk? I never dreamed it could or would happen even as Apple passed Microsoft's market cap. I hope that Apple is able to slowly climb in value over the next couple of years without any major mishaps.

Many people seem to like to put their heads in the sand when it comes to all things Apple. It might be a stretch for me to say that my iPad is the most useful thing I've ever purchased, but it comes close. That is rather of a surprise to me but I've keep my self objective as possible here.

In any event it isn't just all things Apple, many people have the head in the sands mentality that crops up in many instances. These sorts are often left behind stuck in their beliefs until they are pushing up daisies.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Constable Odo

I still hear people yelling that tablets are useless, especially those iPads made by Apple.

It's amazing that Apple is selling so many "toys" and that a "toy" company is sitting as the wealthiest company by market cap on the planet. Who woulda thunk? I never dreamed it could or would happen even as Apple passed Microsoft's market cap. I hope that Apple is able to slowly climb in value over the next couple of years without any major mishaps.

I still hear people yelling that tablets are useless, especially those iPads made by Apple.

It's amazing that Apple is selling so many "toys" and that a "toy" company is sitting as the wealthiest company by market cap on the planet. Who woulda thunk? I never dreamed it could or would happen even as Apple passed Microsoft's market cap. I hope that Apple is able to slowly climb in value over the next couple of years without any major mishaps.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wizard69

Many people seem to like to put their heads in the sand when it comes to all things Apple. It might be a stretch for me to say that my iPad is the most useful thing I've ever purchased, but it comes close. That is rather of a surprise to me but I've keep my self objective as possible here.

In any event it isn't just all things Apple, many people have the head in the sands mentality that crops up in many instances. These sorts are often left behind stuck in their beliefs until they are pushing up daisies.

Funny...I never hear ANYONE saying ANY of that...maybe before the iPad came out or during the initial weeks of the first iPad but today? No...maybe 1 out of 10000 people who do say that are either really loud, or you lot keep bringing them up for some sort of unnecessary self validation.

The only thing I hear now is that the iPad should not be included in the PC counts for the same reason a general smartphone should not be included in the PC counts....it's a separate category and king of that category several times over...no need to use a King of Spain to make Apple the King of Italy as well.

Funny...I never hear ANYONE saying ANY of that...maybe before the iPad came out or during the initial weeks of the first iPad but today? No...maybe 1 out of 10000 people who do say that are either really loud, or you lot keep bringing them up for some sort of unnecessary self validation.

The only thing I hear now is that the iPad should not be included in the PC counts for the same reason a general smartphone should not be included in the PC counts....it's a separate category and king of that category several times over...no need to use a King of Spain to make Apple the King of Italy as well.

Your argument is that you've never heard anyone express the point you're arguing against?

The iPad is one of the most useful things I have ever purchased. There it has been said again. Still never heard anyone say this?

Oops. Yes I see that I misread and thought you were taking the opposite position. My appologies.

Though I still do hear some people saying that tablets are mere toys and that they won't ever own one. This is a slightly different sort of dismissal than saying that they are useless. And if they already have a computer which is functionly sufficient, a tablet purchase would indeed be like buying a toy. Yet it seems that most of these people are just casually justifying their current lifestyle. Is is a common human behavior when people are presented with something new. For example, some older friends of mine said they had no interest in Netflix streaming. After finally taking the time to type their account info into their tv, they are now avid Netflix streaming users. I predict the same for many people that currently have no desire for a tablet.